That's a quotation from an article in yesterday's New York Times, another example of the complexities involved in assessing the risks and benefits of biofuels. And another example of the abuses of the term sustainability.
A system is not sustainable unless the outputs of one part serve as inputs somewhere else along the line, in cycles of usefulness.
If some of the turkey turds were used to power light and heat for the turkey coops, or a pump and watering system, and some were used to fertilize the next crop of turkey fodder, then there'd be sustainability.
I'm increasingly convinced that we need to be clear about the range of meanings of sustainability. Just doing something useful with manure is not necessarily sustainability.
Here's the article.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/06/science/earth/06manure.html?ex=1338868800&en=32c85ca01997c519&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
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